Portable radio receivers, such as pagers, are typically carried by users for the purpose of receiving messages when away from a computer or telephone. Generally, a portable receiver includes an alert mechanism for generating an alert to announce reception of a message to the user. In response to receiving the message, the receiver may then display the message to the user automatically, or the message may be displayed in response to manipulation of controls by the user.
Recently, information service providers have implemented communication systems in which information relating to a particular topic is transmitted to a radio receiver when the user of that receiver has subscribed to the service. By way of example, a user can subscribe to a financial service which provides up-to-date information of financial interest. Additionally, a user can subscribe to a sports news service for providing information about sports events, such as baseball or football games. In the latter situation, however, the user must generally read each and every incoming message in order to determine whether a message is of interest to him. This can inconvenience the user under some circumstances, such as when the user is only interested in a particular event or a particular team.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus for identifying to the user messages relating to a particular topic or event in which he is interested.